Wordpress

Pros

This review is about Wordpress.org, not Wordpress.com which is the free site (they have paid versions too though).

I've built over a hundred sites with Wordpress. I've also built them from scratch in PHP and HTML, and with Wix and Squarespace, so I do have experience with the gamut of web design.

Wordpress is by far the most versatile and widely used web design platform out there. Because it is so ubiquitous, it has the most available resources.

There are thousands of themes so you don't have to create your site from a blank canvas. Many of these are free and those that do cost usually are very inexpensive.

Plugins like Yoast that help your site's search engine optimization or plugins like Redirect which allow you to fix broken links or redirect a page you no longer want attracting traffic to a new page.

And then there's the overall SEO of the site, which is where Wordpress truly excels over any other platform. Wordpress structures it's pages and posts in such a way that if you're willing to take advantage of it, Google will reward the site with a higher ranking.

Also, Wordpress, unlike competitor platforms like Wix or Squarespace, is free! Many of the themes and most of the plugins are free too.

Cons

Wordpress doesn't have many cons, but here are the few:

• Domain registry and hosting is handled separately, by you.
• Customizing your site can definitely be challenging. It's not as easy as the competitor platforms.
• Site speed can be slow when you want to have a lot of background video. It's slow on any platform, but with Wordpress, it's extra slow. Only with excessive video background though, not at all in other cases.

Pros

The most important thing about WordPress is the community! People who are passionate about WordPress have formed a vast network of online communities that communicate online and also meetup regularly in person. The WordPress community gives members support, training, and motivation.

WordPress has a low barrier to entry. No matter your skill level or goals WordPress has an entry point for everyone. WordPress has the slogan "Code is Poetry", which can be interpreted as meaning that code is beautiful to everyone in different ways. Whether you're a beginner, writer, web developer, or advanced coder you can use WordPress to achieve your goals at or beyond your initial skill level with relative ease.

WordPress is highly flexible thanks to its theme and plugin system. Plugins allow you to add custom functionality to a website. You can download free plugins from the WordPress repository or get advanced premium plugins with all the bells and whistles you need. Themes allow you to change the appearance of a site. There are thousands of free, awesome WordPress themes, as well as paid themes that add extra finesse to the design of websites.

WordPress is free. The basic WordPress software is free to download and do whatever you want with it. For services like domains, hosting, or additional functionality you may still have to pay, depending on the service provider.

Cons

Unless someone built a website for you, you have to manage WordPress on your own. This can be challenging when you want to perform the core functions of your business and maintain a website as well. Adding customization can also be challenging however, WordPress is less challenging than most of its competitors.

WordPress has a lot of unnecessary legacy bloat. It often maintains support for outdated software to ensure backwards compatibility. This isn't a problem for ordinary users however, it can be challenging for developers who are new to WordPress.

WordPress requires regular updates of themes, plugins an WordPress itself. This can be a nuisance. You can automate the updates but this adds the risk of site downtime in the event of incompatible third-party updates.

While WordPress typically very secure vulnerabilities are sometimes revealed in the WordPress core code or third-party add-ons. Patches are usually added quickly, though. Some may prefer proprietary systems where vulnerabilities are not available to the general public.

In December 2019 a major update to WordPress was released along with version 5.0, which caused a bit of turmoil within the ecosystem. While I believe the update will benefit WordPress in the long run, there has been a lot of discussion as to whether the update was executed well or if at all was necessary. The conflict revolves around the introduction of a new editor sometimes called the Gutenberg editor. You may want to look it up.

Pros

The reason why I turned to WordPress expertise was because basically everyone else started to, too! The benefit of this is that people of all talents are creating all sorts of apps (called plugins) that have great functions and features for it. Same thing for the themes (that's the look of the site). There's nothing that can't be done with WordPress. Basic awesome websites. Amazing multi-functional enterprise-level websites. Even if you're not an expert, and don't have high demands for your website to ... build a rocket ship for you... you can still enjoy using it and getting your business or your artwork out to the people.

Cons

Funny enough, the thing that makes it so great can also be a thorn in the side. Just because your WordPress site can do all these cool things such as connect people from your site to an autoreponder email list, or accept payments via Paypal easily, it does not also mean that removing other keystrokes/steps for other functions is as easy. So website owners who love their WordPress sites and want the sites to be even more efficient, to do more things automatically, often come across this tricky situation where 'customization' is required. And that means testing, time, and money. Sometimes significant amounts. Customization is open ended. The sky is the limit to what your website can do. But just because it offers a whole lot of cool features out of the box doesn't mean that adding to those features is easy. That's something I run into a lot with clients. The other thing is that the high level of free offerings of apps (again, called plugins) means your website will be able to do a bunch of cool things for free. But you have to be somewhat aware of your site on a regular basis to make sure that the plugins remain up to date and don't cause conflicts with other parts of the website. Regular maintenance does not have to be a big deal or cost at all. But if you don't do it, the costs can become huge when you have to clean something up.

Pros

In one word - community.

WordPress is supported by a huge global community. While the software is a MySQL database, it's open source framework allows developers from around the world to build free and very low cost software add ons, or 'plugins'. WordPress powers eCommerce sites, Newspapers, Directories, Music sites, podcasts and more.

From a single page advertising a coffee shop to an online store selling thousands of items, WordPress has the capability to communicate your digital message to the world, in any language, any format and connecting to any major platform.

Cons

If you don't write code, WordPress gives you a 'go between', a content management system that looks like word processing software to the user, but generates the appropriate HTML, CSS, PHP, JAVASCRIPT behind the scenes.

Unlike traditional coding software like dreamweaver that use FTP (file transfer protocol) to update your site on the server, WordPress updates are done directly (and continuously) from your WordPress dashboard. This gives a more intimate feel but a slower work load.

WordPress started out as blogging software and that beginning unpins its current format.

Some plugins are buggy, will clash with other plugins and can even break your site. Sticking with mainstream ones (that often require a minimal payment) is safest.

Pros

Wordpress is a very well developed, well supported and incredibly flexible platform. It's beauty is in it's ability to work with whatever look, layout or function you or your client may require. I like the fact that it is very regularly and diligently updated by a global team of developers. I like that there are literally millions of web pages devoted to help you work with and on Wordpress. I like that there are a huge number of plugins available to extend the native functionality of the platform. I like that it works so seamlessly with a database, allowing your data to stay secure and accurate while you change everything around it. I like the lightweight themes developed by Wordpress themselves. Oh, and I like that it is a truly globally recognised platform - meaning that you can work with designers, developers, copywriters and art directors from all around the world. Really, it's ease of use as a CMS for clients is a huge plus.

Cons

Wordpress websites do not seem to be quite as lightweight and as fast as websites coded bespoke from scratch in HTML, PHP, CSS and JS. The shear number of updates to themes, core files and plugins can sometimes cause clashes and problems with websites running on the platform. Managing a number of Wordpress websites takes a good deal of will power, resources and time. Adding unusual functionality to a Wordpress website can either be easy and fine . Using a lightweight and well reviewed plugin is a dream, but
it could be an impossible struggle with bloated pages of code and slower loading times, unexpected incompatibility and losing track of numberless subscriptions to seperate products and services.